What the N.B.A. Is Listening To

The music played in arenas during basketball games can range from the Ramones to Queen, “Hava Nagila” to the theme from Green Acres. But the tunes the actual athletes listen to on their Beats headphones in the locker room are radically different and diverse. The Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul likes Jay Z. The Washington Wizards’ John Wall favors rappers Lil Durk, Future, Meek Mill, and Rich Homie Quan. Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant is a fan of Jay Z, the Notorious B.I.G., and Nas. The Houston Rockets’ Chandler Parsons listens to Drake. The Miami Heat’s Udonis Haslem likes Wale (who performed at Haslem’s wedding last year). The New York Knicks’ Tyson Chandler loves Kendrick Lamar. The Rockets’ Dwight Howard has said he prefers Beyoncé to Britney and Bob Marley to Mick Jagger. And Mo Williams, of the Portland Trail Blazers, wants to hear Phil Collins’s “In the Air” prior to a game. In advance of the N.B.A. All-Star Game on February 16, hoops superstars tell Lisa Robinson some of the sounds in their heads and how music helps their game.

Lisa RobinsonPrior to joining Vanity Fair in 1999, contributing editor LISA ROBINSON was a longtime music columnist for the New York Post, The New York Times Syndicate, the host of syndicated radio and cable TV shows, and edited several rock magazines.